Nippon Oil Company

Tetsuya Takezono

Yasuo Fujiwara

Yoshihiro Kobori

Ko Sakata

Eitaroh Morita

Takaaki Amari

Hirosuke Imai

Yutaka Oguchi

Masao Imaizumi

Noritsugu Yabe

Hisao Matsui

Koji Komiya

The invention relates to an agent for promoting growth in animal cells. The agent contains a serum-free medium and lysozyme. The agent can optionally contain cytokines. The invention further relates to an in vitro method of stimulating the growth of T lymphoblastoid cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes, which comprises the step of culturing the T lymphoblastoid cells or peripheral blood lymphocytes in a serum-free culture medium comprising human lysozyme, as a growth stimulating agent, at a concentration of about 4-100 mg/liter.

In vitro method for stimulating cell growth by culturing cells in a

A process for the preparation of an adventive embryo of a plant belonging to the genus Podophyllum, comprising the steps of preparing cells of a plant belonging to the genus Podophyllum, incubating the cells in a sugar free medium or a medium containing up to 2% by weight sugar, and then incubating the cells in a medium containing more than 2% by weight of sugar to generate an adventive embryo; a process for the production of a podophyllotoxin compound comprising the steps of preparing an adventive embryo of a plant belonging to the genus Podophyllum, culturing the adventive embryo to generate an adventitious organ, culturing the adventitious organ to produce a podophyllotoxin compound, and recovering the podophyllotoxin compound; and a process for the production of a podophyllotoxin compound, comprising the steps of preparing de-differentiated cells or tissue of a plant belonging to the genus Podophyllum culturing the de-differentiated cells or tissue in a liquid medium to generate a differentiated organ, culturing the differentiated organ on a solid medium to produce a podophyllotoxin compound, and recovering the podophyllotoxin compound.

Production of podophyllotoxins using podophyllum

Process for preparation of an adventive embryo of podophyllum

According to the invention a derivative of brendane is provided. The derivative of brendane is represented by the general formula of: ##STR1## wherein R is a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and R.sup.1 to R.sup.3 each represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. The brendane derivative is prepared by reacting an alkenylnorbornene of the general formula of: ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 to R.sup.3 each represent a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, with carbon monoxide and an alcohol or water in the presence of a catalyst of Group VIII metal compound of the periodic table.

Derivative of brendane and process for preparing the same

A process is provided for preparing a derivative of naphthazarin represented by the general formula (I) of: ##STR1## wherein X.sub.1, X.sub.2 and X.sub.3 each stands for an atom or a group consisting of hydrogen, a hydroxyl group, organic residues and halogens; and R.sub.1 to R.sub.6 each stands for an atom or a group selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydrocarbon groups. The derivative of naphthazarin is prepared by the step of reacting, in the presence of an acid catalyst, the following compounds represented by the general formulae (II) and (III): ##STR2## wherein R is an atom or a group selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, oxyhydrocarbon, siloxy and acyloxy groups and halogen atoms.

Process for preparing derivatives of naphthazarin

This invention provides a process for isolating and recovering butene-1 of high purity at high yield. Firstly, a butane-butene fraction containing 0.1 to 7 wt % of isobutylene, 10 to 50 wt % of butene-1 and 5 to 20 wt % of isobutane is rectified to reduce the content of isobutane to not more than 0.1 wt %. Then, the rectified butane-butene fraction is passed through a reactor packed with an extrusion molded silica-alumina catalyst to polymerize isobutylene at a reaction velocity as high as 50 times or more of that of butene-1, thus forming oligomers of isobutylene. Finally, the hydrocarbon mixture from the reactor is rectified to remove the oligomers of isobutylene and the other C.sub.4 -hydrocarbons.

Process for isolating and recovering butene-1 of high purity

A process for continuously preparing methyl tertiary-butyl ether with high yield involves reacting an isobutylene-containing/hydrocarbon and methanol by continuously passing the isobutylene and methanol, in a molar ratio of isobutylene to methanol of 1 to 0.6-1.4 at a temperature of 60.degree.-100.degree. C. at a liquid space velocity of 0.1-50 l/hour and at a pressure of 1-50 atmospheres, through a first reactor filled with strong acid type cation exchange resin particles having an average particle diameter of 0.2-10 mm; dividing the mixture of the reaction products in two streams, the flow rate of the first stream being 3-15 times the flow rate of the second stream; recycling the first stream to the first reactor; passing the second stream, at a temperature of 20.degree.-55.degree. C. at a liquid space velocity of 0.1-50 l/hour and at a pressure of 1-50 atmospheres, through a second reactor filled with strong acid type cation exchange resin particles having an average particle diameter of 0.2-10 mm; passing the stream from the second reactor through a fixed bed filled with a water-insoluble solid particulate acid neutralizing agent having an average particle diameter of 0.1-10 mm at a temperature of about 0.degree.-55.degree. C.; passing the resulting reaction mixture into a flashing tower whereby the unreacted hydrocarbon is removed; and recovering a mixture containing MTBE from the bottom of the flashing tower.

Process for preparing methyl tertiary-butyl ether

A process for isolating and recovering butene-1 of high purity at a high yield is provided. The process comprises the steps of continuously passing a butane-butene fraction containing 0.1 to 15 wt % of isobutylene and 10 to 50 wt % of butene-1 through a first reactor packed with a strongly acidic cation exchange resin having an average particle size of from 0.2 to 10 mm at a temperature of from 30.degree. to 100.degree. C. and at a space velocity of liquid of from 0.1 to 50 hr.sup.-1 under a pressure of from 1 to 50 atm., dividing the output mixture flowing out of said first reactor into two flows at a division ratio in flow rate of 1.about.15:1, recirculating the first flow having the flow rate of 1.about.15 into said first reactor packed with said cation exchange resin, passing the second flow having the flow rate of 1 through a second reactor packed with a strongly acidic cation exchange resin under the conditions similar to those of the first reactor, distilling the output flow from said second reactor to separate the same into a heavy hydrocarbon fraction containing oligomers of isobutylene and a light hydrocarbon fraction containing butane and butene, and rectifying said light hydrocarbon fraction to isolate butene-1 from other C.sub.4 -hydrocarbons.

A method for producing methyl tert-butyl ether which comprises the steps of: allowing isobutylene-containing hydrocarbon and methyl alcohol in a given molar ratio to react at a given temperature, pressure and liquid space velocity in the presence of strongly acidic cation-exchange resin catalyst; then passing the reaction product through a fixed bed filled with a water-insoluble, solid particulate acid-neutralizing agent; and subjecting the effluent to flashing operation, preferably also to rectification, to obtain methyl tert-butyl ether. Further included in the invention is the preparation of a fuel composition by mixing the thus obtained methyl tert-butyl ether into an internal combustion fuel.

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Yokohama, Japan

Tetsuya Takezono